Scott Emmerton
After a long career in retail, Scott Emmerton says it has been just in the past seven years at Sobeys where he truly found his passion for the industry. “Sobeys respects its employees, and is not afraid to show appreciation for a job well done,” says Scott. As assistant store manager, he’s driven to lead by example, rolling up his sleeves to get the work done. He also understands the importance of recognizing his team’s hard work. This attitude comes from his father, who he admires greAtlanticy. “He is patient, respectful, inspiring and encouraging,” said Scott. “He enjoys life and laughter and encourages others to do the same.” “Scott has the biggest heart and it shows every day,” wrote his manager. “On Scott’s day off, he still calls the store to see if anything needs to be done, and Scott is our Mr. Fix It. If anything is broken anywhere in the store, you will see him walking in with drill in hand.”
Lucas Hearn
With only a few years under his belt at Sobeys, Lucas Hearn has learned the most important lesson that the customer always comes first. For example, when the weather isn’t good, he makes sure to help customers outside. “It surprises customers, they don’t expect it,” he said. One customer was so appreciative of Lucas voluntarily packing his groceries in his car during a wind storm that he was compelled to write a letter of thanks. “I was trying to figure out how I was going to hold onto the cart so my 19-month-old son didn’t blow away,” he wrote. “It may have been a small gesture to him but it was a great help for me.” What this thankful customer didn’t know is that Lucas was working a 14- hour shift, filling in for a sick co-worker. “I want to be the reason someone smiles or feels good; I approach life with that mindframe,” said Lucas. “It is absolutely important to treat all your customers like family.”
Jayne Harrower
For 21 years, Jayne Harrower’s co- workers have been her extended family. “Co-workers feel like family, there’s always someone to make you laugh,” she said, adding that they see their Sobeys’ customers as part of their community. Some customers who visited as children now take their own children for a cookie club cookie, and she loves when someone comes back to show her a photo of her cake at a family gathering. “You’re making someone’s day, whether it’s a graduation or a welcome to Canada cake, with writing in their home language and English and both flags. It almost makes me cry,” she said. “Customers are at the heart of everything we do, because it’s the people coming in the doors who are taking our products home to feed their families.” Jayne’s Sobeys family supported her during a personal tragedy. “It’s humbling to know that so many people could do that much for one person. It was overwhelming support,” she said. “My Sobeys is my home away from home.”
Charmaine Dyke
Charmaine gives credit to her mother for raising her to be the person she is today. Considering the way Charmaine volunteers for various organizations and treats her customers as family, her mother did an excellent job. With 26-years as a Sobeys employee, including 19 as a cashier, Charmaine loves interacting with her customers. “You hope you make a difference,” she said, and on one day last fall she certainly did. Recognizing that a normally happy customer was having a difficult time, she arranged for community support for him, ensuring he had supplies and medication for the upcoming holidays. He returned to the store later to thank her, saying that without Charmaine’s chat with him and arranging help for him, he didn’t know if he would have gotten through that day. “When you do your best for your customer it’s a win-win: you give them great service and you feel great,” said Charmaine. “You make your customers feel that they’re special, like your family is special to you.”
Angela Harris
Angela Harris is her store’s champion for community engagement, often spearheading donations to charitable organizations such as the food bank. But it was a conversation with her teenage daughter that brought her charitable nature home — literally. When Angela discovered that her daughter’s friend had recently moved across the province for her mom’s cancer treatment, she took the girl under her wing, cutting her lengthy bus commute to school and the hospital and feeding her healthy meals. What the teen wanted most for Christmas was a haircut, so Angela arranged a fun spa day for the girls. “We made their Christmas,” said Angela. Thankfully the mother has been given a clean bill of health and they have moved back home. Angela says her employees are like family. “I grew up at Sobeys; I was 18 when I started. I went there to figure out what I wanted to do with my life,” she said. “I got married, had my children — every important milestone in my life, I’ve been with Sobeys.”
Daniel Harker
Dan Harker comes by his openness to all people honestly: his parents were very community-oriented, and so the idea of placing the customer first was instilled in him from a young age. “The most important part of my job is customers, so it was a very proud moment to be recognized for this award,” said Dan. “My Sobeys is family to me.” “A lot of customers are repeat customers, so we get to know them,” he said. “It’s a downtown store so customers arrive on pedal bikes, skateboards and with walkers. We’ll have dogs tied up outside, we get to know them too.” Dan takes customer requests and comments seriously and tries to improve in all areas of his responsibility at the store. He was recently spotted buying a cookie for a special customer, and he drove home a customer with a walker who fell, to save the customer cab fare. “When he’s transferred, customers follow Dan to any store in the city,” wrote his nominator.
Danijela Gveric
Communications professionals are key players in relaying a company’s messages to colleagues, and Danijela has taken that mission to heart since her first day at Sobeys almost four years ago, where she says she felt at home immediately. Danijela earned the praise of management and her clients, who appreciate her positive attitude and strong work ethic, but there’s one event that truly showcases her value to the team. Tasked with organizing a live stream Q&A for one office with a senior executive, Danijela worked with IT to go far beyond the scope of the original plan. With three days notice, she arranged a company-wide streaming event, giving everyone a chance to ask questions and receive immediate feedback face-to-face. “Always doing my best builds up credibility and integrity, and that in turn drives my passion to keep going and keep giving great service,” said Danijela. “It’s how I do things, I jump in with all my effort, all my energy and with my full heart.”
Donald Graham
On his first day on the job, Donald Graham started more than just a life- long career. Along with learning the ropes as a grocery clerk, he became good friends with another new employee and the man who trained them both; he was later a member of each of their wedding parties. Because of his outgoing, friendly nature, it’s not surprising that he is so popular at his Kenora, Ont., store, which sees an influx of seasonal visitors every summer. Even with a busy store full of customers he’s often heard greeting customers by name and asking “what’s for dinner tonight?” Donald is always happy to rise to the challenge when the answer is “my wife said to ask you!” “I want to connect with customers in a personal way,” said Donald. “If I can put a smile on someone’s face, I’ve done my job.” For Donald, Sobeys has been a huge part of his family’s life. “Most of my friends today I met through work over the years,” he said.
Leigh Forbes
Working as a Sobeys cashier while still in high school, Leigh Forbes likely had no idea how great a role Sobeys would play in her life. Now more than 30 years later, she has moved through the ranks, and now loves her HR role, where she is able to support the managers who have more than 100 employees, and their teams. Her Value Champion nomination was made thanks to her hard work and dedication, exemplified by a situation where she quickly helped manage a situation remotely. Understanding that open, honest and timely communication are vital to a successful outcome, she made sure that both the manager and the employee were happy with their resolution. Impressively, Leigh has been working while undergoing treatment for cancer, and she credits Sobeys for helping her cope. “The support my team has shown me has been stellar. They’re there for me, and I’m there for them,” she said. Her colleagues have been amazed at her tenacity and dedication. “She’s an ‘exceeds expectations’ employee,” wrote her manager.
Nancy Farina
As a cashier for 41 years, Nancy Farina knows her customers very well. “I love the social interaction. I know people by names, I know their families, some are neighbours,” she said. “She has a special knack for making every customer feel like they are one of her “regular’ customers,” wrote a colleague. “Nancy’s interactions with customers are nothing short of remarkable.” Whether she’s reminding a regular customer to buy flowers for his wife on Valentine’s Day or calling a taxi for an elderly customer — and then making sure there’s a chair for them while they wait — she treats everyone with care. “We’re the last person they deal with on their way out, so we make sure they’re smiling when they leave,” she said. Never one to stand idle, Nancy is always organizing, filing, signing, arranging, cleaning, fixing, marketing, thinking and doing. Nancy is integral to the family feeling in the store, planning a holiday lunch for staff and decorating the store with decorations she purchased herself.
